Courses

International Business

IB 320F Foundations of International Business, Professor Gillespie

Prerequisites: May not be counted toward BBA Degree, Restricted to non-business majors.

Business is global. Therefore, an understanding of the global economy has become a foundation for nearly all business activity. The aim of this course is to provide a basic, integrated understanding of the international business environment and the challenges it poses for business. The course introduces concepts and processes of global trade and foreign direct investment, international monetary system, regional economic integration and foreign exchange markets.

In a global economy it is especially important to study differences between countries and understand how these differences are linked to the various strategic choices businesses adopt, in order to compete internationally. Therefore, this course puts a special emphasis on national differences. By the end of the course, students will enhance their ability to make sense and explain international business practices.

The main format of the class will be lectures. However, the class will also include guest lecturers, case studies and discussion of up-to-date events of the world economy.

IB 350 International Trade, Professor Gerber

Prerequisites: Admission to a Business major, Upper division standing, Credit or Registration for BA 324 or BA 324H

Forces and Players in the Global Economy

Business is global. Everyday managers of corporations and in government must make decisions where the complexity of the global economy is integral. Without a solid understanding of the dynamics of the global markets and the global economy, the potential for bad choices increases.

The class will cover major trends in the global economy such as those related to globalization, trade and monetary complexity, economic integration, and the evolution of the international political economy. We’ll also explain the role of important countries, such as the BRIC nations, and will demystify key institutions and markets such as the IMF, the WTO, the G7, the G20 and the FOREX. Understanding these elements that are the backdrop for nearly all business and government decisions will help you analyze and predict economic change and help you make better decisions, whether your are working in business, a non-business enterprise, or in a government agencies or institution.

IB 372 Global Entrepreneurship, Professor Gabbi

Prerequisite: Upper-Division Standing (60 hours).

We are in a golden age for entrepreneurship. As the world comes closer together and the technologies, tools and financing to build companies become more ubiquitously available, unparalleled opportunities will be afforded to those with the training and vision to spot them. Global Entrepreneurship will equip you with these tools and provide you with this training. It is designed to be a practical guide to starting, managing and winding down/exiting a business in a global context. Over the course of the semester, students will have the opportunity to explore various aspects of global entrepreneurship including opportunity analysis, business planning, fundraising, competing in a global marketplace, and managing through crisis. The emphasis is on learning through practical experience and real-world examples delivered by community business leaders and the course instructor. Regardless of your ultimate professional aspirations, having an understanding of the key dynamics involved with founding and growing a business in a global environment will accelerate your career. Prof. Gabbi is an accomplished entrepreneur, having founded three separate successful start-ups. After a 10-year tenure as an Area Sales Director of Arrow Electronics, a $25B Fortune 150 company, he has just launched his fourth entrepreneurial venture focused on identifying, developing and investing in global entrepreneurial ventures. He earned both his BBA in International Business/Finance and MBA in Information Management from the University of Texas at Austin.

Marketing

MKT 320F is a business course designed to introduce non-business students to the fundamental aspects of marketing as it relates to the whole business enterprise. The class will cover the structure, functions and methods employed by marketing in discovering and translating the consumer wants and needs into product and service specifications and then transferring these goods and services from producers to consumers or users.

Prerequisites: Admission to a Business major, Credit or Registration for BA 324 or BA 324H, and Credit or Registration for STA 309 or STA 309H.

This course is intended to convey the key elements of marketing and role of Marketing in the organization and society. Marketing is the key channel through which a company interacts with its market(s), and thus is the primary source of revenues and profits. The intent is to introduce concepts which provide a stepping-stone to further coursework and experience in marketing. We also seek to provide insights and understanding for those who will interact with marketing activities and people in their professional and personal lives.

Though there are different sections of this course, with different emphases, all sections will cover certain key elements in marketing. These include the role of marketing in overall corporate strategy, ways to understand and define markets, and the development of a marketing offering, including conceiving and developing products and services, the delivery of products and services to customers, communicating with customers, and extracting market value through pricing.

Marketing 337 sections will use a combination of lectures, readings, and applications to provide students with a solid understanding of marketing vocabulary, concepts, and activities.

MKT 337H Principles of Marketing-Honors, Professor McAlister

Prerequisites: Admission to McCombs School of Business Honors Program, ACC 312H, Credit or Registration for BA 324H, and STA 309 or 309H

Marketing provides tools for understanding customers and for meeting those customer needs better than competitors. Of course aspiring marketers need to understand these tools, but so do aspiring consultants, entrepreneurs, investment bankers, corporate financiers, and general managers including doctors, lawyers, non-profit administrators, politicians, religious leaders, etc. The course will prepare marketers and strategic management consultants (who primarily address marketing problems) to identify customer needs and to build offerings that meet those needs better than competitors’ offerings. The course will help entrepreneurs effectively “position” (who is going to buy, and why) a product/service and build programs that support that position. Investment bankers will develop an understanding of marketing tools that can help build their business and, along with corporate financiers and general managers, develop an understanding of the role that marketing plays in building firm value in the stock market. (On average, marketing-built brands contribute up to 59% of all publicly traded firms’ market value and up to 65% of US firms’ market value.) After placing marketing in context, the course begins with the nuts and bolts of marketing strategy. A product’s “position” includes the product’s point of difference, the set of competitors against which the product should be evaluated and the reason to believe that the product is superior to competitors. From there we study the marketing tactics that are used to deliver the product’s position: New product development, pricing, distribution and promotion.

MKT 353 Internship in Marketing & International Business

Prerequisites: Admission to a Business Major, Completion of 45 hours, and Consent of Departmental Internship Coordinator.

This course allows students to expand their internship experience by linking the skills developed on the job to new and relevant topics in marketing. Students enrolled in this course are expected to undertake a job or internship during this semester; keep a daily journal of their activities at the internship; and write a final report based on the internship that is scholarly in nature. This course will only meet a few times throughout the semester, as the rest of the hours are to be completed at the internship. This course is only offered on the pass/fail basis.

MKT 460 Information and Analysis, Professors Rao and Duan

Prerequisites: Admission to a Business Major, MKT 337 or MKT 337H, and STA 309 or STA 309H

This is a required course for marketing students in the undergraduate business program. The course is designed for students who want to pursue a career in marketing, but can also be taken by other students interested in marketing research. The theory is discussed in lectures and applied in computer lab sessions (Mod Lab), which are an integral part of the course.

The aim of the course is to teach students the methods, principles, and theories of modern marketing research and to apply these to practical business settings. Students will learn the concepts and terminology used by marketers, marketing researchers and master methodological tools to obtain a competitive advantage in the business world.

The specific objectives of the course are:

1. To understand that marketing problems require information and how this information is obtained and delivered

2. To learn how to set up a research design

3. To know and understand the different methods of data collection and data analysis

4. To train the student to apply methods of data collection and analysis to solve real life marketing problems

5. To improve the students’ business writing and presentation skills

6. To gain more experience working in teams.

MKT 363 Professional Selling & Sales Mgmt, Professor Miller

Prerequisite: Admission to a Business Major, Upper division standing, and MKT 337 or MKT 337H

This course is designed to be a hands-on introduction to selling and sales management. Speakers, films, role playing, group projects, and a personal field trip will give each student a “real world” experience. The commitment to each student is to leave this class with what it takes to be a “dynamic leader” in any endeavor you choose to pursue. The objective is to develop skills and abilities that allow a business student to manage their sales territories as if it were their own business. The unique skills they will develop will enable them to build successful sales and management careers.

MKT 366P Special Projects in Marketing Practicum, Professor Bentzin

Prerequisites: 45 semester hours of college course work, Admission to a business major and Upper division standing.

This course may be used as a Marketing Elective, or as a practicum to fulfill the internship requirement.

This course is intended to be a "practicum" in applied marketing management. As such, it is oriented towards "real-world" problems and situations encountered by actual business and non-profit organizations. We shall work with companies and non-profit organizations to identify strategic marketing challenges which they face, and will recommend actions based on our analyses of their competitive environments.

The experience gained in working with management, as well as the research and analysis that these consulting projects will entail, will help to gain valuable work experience and position students for responsible positions upon graduation.

Students will choose teams of 4-6 members, and these groups will select a client and problem area from a list of those topics submitted by organizations seeking our help as consultants. As an option, student groups may work on a formal business plan of their own choosing. Common to all projects will be the analysis of the competitive market environment, selecting target customer groups, research and analysis of key marketing information on customer and competitive behavior, and the development of a strategic marketing plan directed at achieving the objectives of the client organization, taking into account relevant constraints that it faces. Recommendations for action and implementation of this plan, along with contingency plans and further research that may be needed, will be provided to management.

The course structure will involve formal class sessions, as well as regular meetings with the client organizations, and with the instructor in his office. We will work as consulting teams on a series of target dates, as the projects progress throughout the semester. Students will be evaluated primarily on the basis of the written report and oral presentation to be completed near the end of the semester, their ability to meet deadlines, and their contributions made in discussion in the classroom and group-instructor meetings. In that sense, the work and its evaluation will parallel that which will be encountered in the full-time jobs for which students are preparing to take upon graduation.

The course is designed to develop decision-making skills in marketing. Textual material introduces concepts and tools useful in structuring and solving marketing problems. Case studies describing actual marketing problems provide an opportunity for those concepts and tools to be employed in practice. In every case the decision-maker must develop a strategy consistent with the underlying factors existing in the situation presented and must consider the implications of that strategy for the organization and its environment.

MKT 372 Brand Management, Professor Walls

Prerequisite: Admissions to a Business Major, Upper division standing and MKT 337 or MKT 337H

Designing Brands to Lock-In Customers & Lock-Out Competition

If much of what we do as a business can be easily copied, what can an organization do to create a longer-term sustainable advantage in the marketplace? Create a strong brand that customers know, trust, and, at times, love! In fact, since the brand is the closest thing we have to a guarantee of future revenues, marketers manage the most valuable asset in most companies - the brand!

This course will focus on the science and art of branding as a fundamental element of marketing strategy. Students will get hands-on experiences with strategies, frameworks, and specific tactics for building, leveraging, and defending strong brands in any industry. All aspects covered will be in the context of actual applications of brand concepts to real-world challenges. Discussions will focus on current opportunities and challenges facing brand managers in a variety of industries and markets, including CPG, B2B, services, technology, online, and cross-cultural, along with the role of the brand in the company's CSR efforts.

MKT 372 Business Ethics and Social Responsibility, Professor Landolt

Prerequisite: Admissions to a Business Major, Upper division standing and MKT 337 or MKT 337H

Course Objectives. This course serves three main purposes: (1) to learn about basic concepts relevant to business ethics, (2) to aid in the development of ethical principles in a variety of ethical domains, and (3) to provide some practice discussing ethical issues with people from a variety of viewpoints and backgrounds.

MKT 372 Contemporary Issues in Marketing, Professor Highbarger

Prerequisite: Admissions to a Business Major, Upper division standing and MKT 337 or MKT 337H.

Contemporary Issues is a course that covers a number of current marketing challenges. Currently, the course has modules on: reality ethics marketing services, anticipating and using market trends, and capturing the attention of the brain. Students in the course will participate in an individual one-on-one presentations with the instructor and take a final examination to demonstrate the ability to apply the topics discussed in class.

The objectives of the course include: to practice real problem solving using all business disciplines; to identify marketing and perception issues which frame business decisions; to gain experience using analytics and forecasts to determine business direction; and to improve skills in oral communication and critical discussion.

”For every leader in the company, not just for me, there are decisions that can be made by analysis. These are the best kinds of decisions. They’re fact-based decisions.” Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos.

In virtually every industry, the competitive strategies organizations are employing today rely extensively on data analysis to predict the consequences of alternative courses of action, and to guide executive decision making, more generally. Companies today are competing on analytical capabilities and require analysts and decision makers who both understand the value of analytics, can identify opportunities and know how best to apply data analytics to enhance business performance. The spreading of analytical competition spans industries—from consumer finance to retailing to travel and entertainment to consumer good, and even professional sports teams.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to data mining problems and tools to enhance managerial decision making at all levels of the organization and across business units. We discuss scenarios from a variety of business disciplines, including the use of data mining to support customer relationship management (CRM) decisions, decisions in the entertainment industry, financial trading, and even professional sports teams.

The three main goals of the course are to enable students to:

1. Approach business problems data-analytically by identifying opportunities to derive business value from data mining.

2. Interact competently on the topic of data-driven business intelligence (know the basics of data mining techniques and how they can be applied to extract relevant business intelligence.)

3. Acquire some hands-on experience so as to follow up on ideas or opportunities that present themselves.

The course is specifically designed for students with various backgrounds -- the class does not require any technical skills or prior knowledge.

MKT 372 Integrated Marketing Communications, Professor Golden

Prerequisite: Admissions to a Business Major, Upper division standing and MKT 337 or MKT 337H

The objective of MKT 372 (Integrated Marketing Communications) is to provide an overview of the components and considerations involved in marketing communications strategy decisions. In order to accomplish this goal, one must first understand the situation from the consumer perspective (or the recipient of the communication efforts). Thus, the first part of the course will consider the basic principles underlying consumer information processing and how marketing communication efforts can influence this process. The second part of the course will focus on the individual elements of the marketing communications mix (advertising, direct marketing (including the internet and social media), sales promotion, and public relations) and how these elements are combined into an integrated promotional campaign.

MKT 372Life and Works of Adam Smith, Professor Cox

Prerequisite: Admissions to a Business Major, Upper division standing and MKT 337 or MKT 337H

Adam Smith is known primarily as the economist who wrote The Wealth of Nations. However, this great text accounts for only 31% of the 3,529 pages of the Glasgow edition of his complete works. A more complete understanding of Smith’s works reveals that his economic views are widely misunderstood. This course will examine The Wealth of Nations, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, and Lectures on Jurisprudence in the context of the Scottish Enlightenment.

This is a writing flag course with several short assignments due throughout the semester and a term paper due at the end. With a few exceptions, the classes will consist primarily of discussions interpreting the texts and the regular preparation and participation of all students will be expected.

MKT 372 Marketing for Entrepreneurs, Professor Highbarger

Prerequisite: Admissions to a Business Major, Upper division standing and MKT 337 or MKT 337H

This course builds on marketing concepts taught in other classes and provides a focus on the issues facing smaller and start-up businesses. Course modules include: introduction to entrepreneurship; the offering; differentiation of the offering; mass markets versus selective markets; guerilla marketing; the business model and business plan; and capital markets.

The class will include a number of written exercises leading to a final business plan which will be both written and presented orally. The course utilizes two books and other readings.

MKT 372.2 Consumer Behavior, Professor Golden

Prerequisite: Admissions to a Business Major, Upper division standing and MKT 337 or MKT 337H

This course centers on the role of the consumer in the marketing process. Course content will focus on core psychological processes and decision-making by the consumer, plus a study of the consumer's environment (diversity, social class, family influences) for segmentation of markets. This is followed by topics of symbolic consumption, innovations, and ethics/social responsibility as they relate to consumer behavior. A team-based student semester project will use consumer behavior concepts to create marketing improvements for existing brands.

MKT 372.4 Global Marketing, Professor Gillespie

Prerequisite: Admissions to a Business Major, Upper division standing and MKT 337 or MKT 337H

Global Marketing addresses the current concerns of firms as they compete for buyers across the globe. It introduces students to the global marketing environment including the global economy, cultural forces, and the political and regulatory climate. It explores how managers analyze global opportunities-buyer behavior, competitors, and marketing research. The course continues by describing global marketing strategies, foreign market entry options, and the global implications of managing the marketing mix. It concludes with an examination of organizational issues that face the global marketer. The course consists of lectures, case discussions, and a group marketing report.

Independent Study/Conference Courses

IB 379CIndependent Research in International Business
MKT 179C and 379C Independent Research in Marketing

Special study courses designed to accommodate the academic needs of individual students for advanced or specialized work. Prerequisites are "C" or better in the department core introductory courses, 18 hours of business and economics (6 of which must be upper division) and upper division standing (60 hours).

Prior to registering for I B 179C or I B 379C, MKT 179C, MKT 379C, students must contact a faculty member of their choice in this department to discuss registration for independent study. After doing so, students must obtain written approval in the department chair's office.